WHO Let The Pirates Out
by Kitsune Foxfire
Summary: When you lived a life of adventure like the Doctor did, you never knew just what type of person you were going to run across during your travels. Of course, when the TARDIS had a mind of her own on where the Doctor and his Companions should go, they're bound to run into some interesting characters, even by the Doctor's standards.


**Kitsune here with an all new (sort of) story. Those of you who follow me on Tumblr have seen a good amount of this. But NOW it's done! And I didn't post the last, oh, 7,000 words or so...so there's plenty more to read for those of you who do follow me. And look! Now it's in order, too. Aren't I good to you? Please enjoy and leave a review if you feel like it. Also, for those of you who don't know, I've started on a collab with Anjelle under the name BedlamAnjelle called "****Immortality is What We Leave Behind". It's an AU One Piece story, totally fantasy with no main pairings. I'm having a lot of fun working on it with Anjelle, she's fantastic all around and an amazing writer, so I'd appreciate it if you'd go and give it a look. But no pressure or anything. I'm just really proud of us and excited about all the plans we have for the story.**

* * *

There was nothing overly extraordinary about the blue police box standing next to the well worn path. It was odd however, given that on this particular island there was a Marine base. Still, it was unlikely one such as the Doctor thought about such things when parking the TARDIS relying how he did on it's perception field. A good thing, too, since three people exiting an apparently cramped box would turn heads even around here.

A young woman, smiling brightly, half laughing at something was the first to appear. Her blonde hair glowed in the sun as she turned towards the box, arms thrown wide. "Where are we?"

"Yeah, Doc, where'd ya land us this time?" The man who spoke made a big show of looking around, brushing back dirty blond bangs. "Because I don't think this looks much like the beaches of Mercers Seven."

"It doesn't?" The Doctor hummed. "No I guess not. How odd." He grinned goofily at his companions. "Oh well!"

"Doctor!" The woman laughed.

"Aww, come on, Rose! Don't be like that! It's an adventure! Right, Jack?"

"What he means to say is, he's lost."

"Am not!"

"So, you know where we are then?" Rose asked, leaning against the Doctor.

"…Haven't got a clue."

Jack snorted. "Lost."

"Oiy! I know where we're not! We're not on Earth."

"Wow, way to narrow it down there, Doctor."

"Shuddup, you." The both grinned at each other, content.

"Do you hear that?" Rose asked, stiffening against the Doctor slightly. "It sounds like shouting?"

Instantly both men were on alert. "Quite a bit of shouting, I'd say."

"Think we should investigate?"

"No need. By the sound of it, it's heading our way." Suddenly the Doctor spun on his heels and tried to herd Rose into the police box.

"Hey! What's the big idea?"

"Gunfire. Rose, get into the TARDIS where it's safe."

"And what about us?"

The Doctor raised a sardonic eyebrow at Jack. "I thought you were a man of action?"

"…Fair point." The former time agent nodded to Rose. "In you go. Don't worry your pretty little head about us."

"I wasn't going to." Rose snapped. "Don't you dare come crying to me if you two get shot!"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Anything else the Doctor might have said was forgotten when a cloud of dust formed in the distance, sending Rose into a hurry to get to safety.

Jack drew his gun, leveling it at the approaching commotion.

"Jack. NO." The Doctor admonished, sonic screwdriver in hand.

"Aw, come on! They're shooting!"

"But not at us." The dust cloud was almost on top of them now. Shouts of anger could clearly be heard over the sound of many people running. Oddly enough, laughter could be heard as well.

A young man in an open red vest ran past, grinning and laughing as his sandaled feet slapped against the hard packed earth. He waved at the two stunned travelers before skidding to a stop a short distance away and trotting right past them over to the TARDIS, a feat which should have been impossible. The Doctor was instantly wary even as the stranger frowned slightly and shrugged after walking around the police box.

The sound of more gunfire seemed to snap the young man out of his daze and he spun, offering them another insanely large grin before pushing past them. For once, Jack was quicker to react then the Doctor, but the timelord suspected it might have something to do with the fact the stranger wasn't wearing much of a top. None the less, it was Jack who's hand shot out to snag the back of the vest causing the shorter male to almost fall backwards as he came up short. Dark brown- almost black- eyes looked back at Jack, not exactly curious, but not exactly vacant.

"Where do you think you're running off to?" Jack's question was obviously rhetorical as he cut his eyes to his friend. "Doctor….?"

The Doctor frowned, running a hand over his short cropped brown hair before another shot rang out, cutting his internal debate short. "AHHHH FINE! Fine! Just for right now and _only_ because there are people with guns out here. I hate guns." He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the very person they were talking about, who strangely didn't seem bothered at all by any of this and attempted to look threatening. "You. Inside, now. And _DON'T_ touch anything!"

Judging by the grin he got in response as Jack literally shoved the local into the TARDIS, it didn't work. He blamed the ears. No one took him seriously with those ears. Well, except for maybe Rose and Jack. Mostly Rose, though… and only about half the time. He blinked, pulling himself back into the here and now just before the people shouting and brandishing what looked to be flintlock muskets came charging down the worn path and almost ran him down. Their attempt to stop might have been comical if it wasn't for the fact that half of the men were pointing guns at him.

The one in the lead glowered at him from under a wide brimmed hat, the word MARINE printed boldly across the front. "YOU!"

"Me." The Doctor smirked at the man. It wasn't appreciated he guessed when there was the distinct sound of guns cocking.

"Have you two seen a guy run past here?"

"What sort of guy?" A quick glance over his shoulder showed Jack was leaning against the TARDIS, hand firmly on the handles in a way the suggested he was holding it closed. It was a tossup on it was because of Rose or the stranger in the ship.

"Straw Hat Luffy!" When that didn't get any reaction out of the two of them the stranger let out a strangled noise. "You know, short guy, red vest, black hair, wears a _straw hat_?!"

The Doctor shrugged, a hapless goofy grin plastered on his face as he crossed his arms. "Nope. Haven't seen anyone like that come by here. You, Jack?"

"Haven't seen a single person except for these fine fellows right here." The usual flirty tone wasn't there despite the words. The Doctor didn't even bother to call him on it. Both men were wondering what reason a group of armed men had for chasing someone who was obviously _not_ armed and didn't appear dangerous at all.

"Dammit! Men! He must have slipped past us and gone back to town!" The man shouted before offering them something that was somewhere between a sketchy salut and a nod as his men took off running back the way they came. He was just as quick as them to leave.

The reaction was surprising to say the least. The group of men had obviously been tired and yet they'd taken off at a dead run back the way they came. Almost like they were afraid of what this Luffy person would do back in town. Both travelers shared the same look of near-panic before Jack turned and shoved at the doors. The Doctor was right next to him as the door swung open to reveal an un-amused Rose and the potentially dangerous stranger they'd stuck into the TARDIS with her. A stranger who was laying on his back staring up at the ceiling of the TARDIS above him, laughing quietly.

"Huh. Well, He doesn't _look_ like the killer type." Jack mused.

"Excuse me, what?" Rose shot her friends a dirty look. "You can't just go shoving some...some...guy!... in here with me like it's okay!"

"Well, it is." The Doctor beamed at her. "Isn't it?"

"NO!"

The smile fell. "No?"

"For one thing… he smells! And he's weird! I don't even think he's human, Doctor!"

"I'm a rubber man!" The stranger pipped up, startling Rose as he sat up and gave her a wide grin. He didn't elaborate at all though as he continued to stare at the three of them with wide dark eyes.

After a moment the Doctor sighed. "Yes, alright. Rubber man. And that is?"

"This place is amazing!" He was ignored as the stranger literally jumped to his feet and ran around the center console. "It's-"

He didn't have time for this right now. Not if this guy was a threat. "Yes, yes I know, bigger-"

"-a mystery box! Awesome!" The stranger cut him off.

The three of them were silent for a second as they just watched the young man run around looking at everything. The Doctor shot Jack a dirty look when he noticed the man disguising a laugh in his hand when the other caught the timelord pouting. Finally he spoke, sounding petulant even to himself. "... That's not what you're supposed to say."

"It's not?" The stranger turned his attention back to them, confusion evident.

Rose even sounded like she was trying not to laugh at him when she answered for her friend. "You're supposed to say 'It's bigger on the inside.' Everyone says that."

"Oh." The straw hat was placed on top of black hair as the young man looked around again while walking over to them. "I guess it is."

"_That's_ your reaction? Get out of the TARDIS. If you can't appreciate the old girl-"

"Doctor!"

"What, Rose?"

"There's no need to be rude."

"I thought you didn't like him?"

"_Noooo_. I didn't like you just shoving him in here with me. There's a difference. I bet you didn't even get his name, did you?"

"Sure I did!" He thought quick. The people chasing him had called the stranger something. "Er… Strawhat Sponge?" Rose gave him a dirty look.

"Shihihi! I'm Luffy! Monkey D. Luffy!"

"So, wait…" Rose's brows scrunched up. "Your first name is Monkey?"

"No, my first name is Luffy."

"But you said…."

"It's like Asian names. Family line first, personal name last." Jack explained, nudging past the Doctor to stand in front of Luffy. He looked the shorter male up and down and then gave him on if his trademark smiles. "Hello there."

Luffy raised a hand in reply. "Yo."

"I'm Jack Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness." The smile turned into his flirty-smirk as shifted his weight in a way that screamed out 'cocky'.

The Doctor decided to put a stop to it before it could get any further. It wasn't like he was _jealous_ or anything. Jack flirted with Rose all the time. It was just… this Luffy looked too young. Yeah. That was it. Luffy was too young. "Stop it."

"What? I'm just saying hi!"

"I'm a Captain, too!" Luffy cheered, interrupting them and slapping a distracted Jack heartily on the shoulder with enough force to make the man wince. Rose started laughing at the young man's apparently oblivious reaction. "Where's your ship?"

"Well, uh…" Jack shot the Doctor a confused look. It was obviously not going to way he had planned. "It's kind of far away."

Luffy obviously wilted. "Oh."

"But, you're standing in my friend's ship now!" Jack practically shoved him in front of the straw hat wearing 'Captain'. "Luffy, this is the Doctor. And this is his ship!" his waved his arm at everything.

"OOOOO! His ship is a mystery box! SO COOOOL!" Luffy gushed.

"Yes, well." The Doctor couldn't help the wide grin the broke out across his face. "It is, isn't it? It's called a TARDIS. That's short for Time And Relative Dimension In Space, and well… it's-"

"A mystery box." Luffy grinned at him. "A blue mystery box."

Rose laughed as he found himself pouting again. "He's got you there, Doctor. Hi. I'm Rose."

"Right then. So, about this _'mystery box'._" It actually hurt to call the Old Girl that, and the Doctor mentally apologized to her. "She's a very special ship. Over there is the control panel."

Luffy shrugged, walking over to the console and walked around it again, looking up at the center spire. The Doctor shared a look with Jack, knowing that the young man would be impressed even if he wasn't a 'Captain'. "Hey, what's this do?" Before the words were even out of his mouth, Luffy's hand was reaching out to press one of the many levers that helped stabilize the time dilation.

The Doctor's hearts froze even as Rose quickly stopped the hand. "Hey now, don't just go touching everything you see, okay? That could cause all sorts of problems, yeah?"

"It could?" The poor guy looked horribly confused. "But, it's a ship. How do you steer it then?"

"Ohhh. You were expecting a _wheel_." Jack let out a half laugh at either how naive they'd been expecting Luffy to recognize high tech controls after seeing the old fashioned flint-lock muskets, or maybe relief at Rose stopping the possible implosion of time. "It's a machine. Like a-"

Those dark eyes lit up, full of wonder and joy. "Like a _Robot?!_ AMAZING!" The look he gave the console now was one of sheer rapture as he finally gave them the reaction they'd been expecting all along. If any of them had expected that to stop Luffy from reaching out with what could only be described as childlike glee to grab the very shiny lever just to the right of him they were sorely mistaken. "What's this?"

"Don't touch that!" Jack yelped, inserting himself between Luffy and the console and pushing the shorter male back.

"He's going to- hand-HAND JACK!"

Jack snapped. "I KNOW! What do you think I'm shoving him fo-holy shit! Your arm!"

"Huh?" The grasping fingers that were scant centimeters away from the lever and yet a yard further from his body then they had any right to be stopped twitching as Luffy quit trying to look around Jack's shoulder. "What about it?"

"What about it?! It _stretches_!" Rose exclaimed, poking it.

"Fascinating." The Doctor hadn't even realized he had pulled out his sonic screwdriver when the elongated appendage made a grab for it. "Hands off!" He scolded, slapping the wrist and earning a pout as he scanned the hand. "Huh. Human…."

"Told you I'm a rubber man- What's that do?"

"No, no, no! Don't touch that!" Rose yelped latching onto the hand and dragging it away from the console as Jack continued to wrestle with the main issue.

"Awww!"

"Doc, a little less scanning a little more helping here!" Jack grunted, having a hard time holding onto Luffy. "I know I like my partners flexible, but this is ridiculous. No touching!"

The scan still came back as human. It was fascinating, but even the Doctor realized that something had to be done before the strange man he'd let into the TARDIS sent them all spinning into a sun, or a Dalek ship. "Right. Sorry about that. Let's just-HEY! Let go of my screwdriver!"

It was then a most unusual thing happened. The door to the TARDIS opened. Which was unusual because the Doctor could have sworn he had locked it. Even more disconcerting still was the perception filter was most definitely still on, a quick glance confirmed this. Yet there was someone standing in the doorway of the TARDIS, causing everyone to freeze. Jack slowly reached for his gun as Rose slid around the side of the controls and out of the line of potential fire. The intruder had what looked like three swords at his side, and short green hair. He took in the interior of the TARDIS with an almost bored expression until he noticed them. Then those eyes went stone cold and the Doctor felt that old thrill that told him he was staring Death in the face. His, if he wasn't careful. He heard Jack mutter a curse as the safety clicked off, and he couldn't find it in him to hold it against his friend. The gun wasn't for himself, or Jack. No, it was for Rose. Always for Rose would be bend the rules…

"Zoro!" Loud, cheerful, bright as the sun, Luffy shouted towards the man still standing in the doorway, hand on the hilt of a sword. His limbs snapped back to a less mind-boggling length as he enthusiastically waved, grinning widely. "Zoro, look what I found!"

"There you are Luffy. Have you seen the ship?" The change was instantaneous. The stone-cold-look of a killer was instantly replaced with good natured amusement and the hand came off the sword. The green haired man, Zoro, walked further into the TARDIS like he'd been there a thousand times before.

Luffy started laughing. "You got lost!"

"I did not! They just kept moving the town!"

"Shihihihi!"

"Listen, maybe I wouldn't have gotten lost if _SOMEONE_ hadn't pissed off those Marines!"

Jack finally gave up on trying to hold Luffy back and just let the excited youth go. "I take it you know each other?" He put the safety lock back on his gun, but was obviously at loath to put it away.

"You could say that." Zoro gave him a cocky look before looking down at Luffy who was trying desperately to show him the control panel. "Right, Captain?"

"Right! Zoro, look, it's got buttons! _Red_ buttons!"

Deciding Luffy was a bit of a lost cause at the moment and seeing that Rose seemed to have mastered the art of smacking his hands before he touched something, the Doctor turned his attention to Zoro. "Luffy's Captain of what, exactly?"

"Our crew." Zoro was apparently a man of few words. The look he gave him spoke volumes about his amusement, however.

"Right, I got that part." He offered a cheesy smile of his own. "But here's the tricky part. Crew of what?"

"Pirates." Luffy spoke up, not even bothering to look up from the console to see the looks of total disbelief the Doctor, Rose and Jack were giving him.

"Pirates?" Jack looked at Zoro, who just crossed his arms and smirked. He at least looked the part. At least he had been standing there glaring at them all before.

"You're kidding right?" Rose's voice was a little high. "I mean, _pirates_?"

Luffy finally looked at them, head cocked to the side. "Yeah. Didn't the Marines tell you?"

"Uh, no. Definitely left that part out. Think I would have remembered it." Jack half rambled.

"So, you're like, real pirates then? Stealing and fighting and everything, yeah?"

"Yep!" It just seemed so wrong for someone to sound so happy about that. "It's fun, right Zoro?"

"Yeah." The green haired man shrugged.

"But _why_?" The Doctor found himself asking. "Why not make something of yourself?"

For a moment Luffy said nothing. Then he gave the Doctor a brilliant smile. "I gonna be King of the Pirates! It's my dream."

"Why a life of crime, though?"

"Because it's fun; because we're free." Luffy pulled his hat back onto his head as he walked towards the door, Zoro trailing right behind him as the others followed slightly unsure. "I have my ship, I have my Nakama, and we have all the Seas to explore! It wouldn't be any fun if we weren't free, and Pirates are free."

Dark eyes looked back at the Doctor and he saw a burning _need_ in those eyes. A need that he had felt long ago, back on Gallifrey when he'd stolen a TARDIS. "I see."

"You do? Well, that's good, because _I_ don't." Rose grumbled.

"Shihihi! Thanks for hiding me, and for showing me your ship! She's really cool! I like her a lot! Oh, but I like the Merry more! That's our ship, the Going Merry! You guys wanna come see it?" The straw hat wearing Captain yammered as he opened the door and lead the way out, almost walking smack into a young woman with very ginger hair. So ginger it was orange looking.

"Luffy!" Who apparently knew him. Very well, judging by the way her fist connected with the back of his skull. "Where the _hell_ have you two been? I've been looking all over for you!"

"Nami, that hurt…"

"Shut up you idiot! You're made out of rubber, how could that hurt!"

"Would you tone it down, you witch?"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" She screeched, fist connecting with Zoro as well.

Jack let out a low whistle. "Wow. Guess that whole thing about red heads having fiery tempers wasn't a joke, huh?"

"What was that?" Brown eyes narrowed at Jack, and the Doctor and Rose wisely stepped to the side, leaving the man to his fate.

"I, was, um. Just saying how lovely your hair looked, miss. Like flames in the sunlight."

"Oh, God. Not another one." The woman seemed to deflate a bit, but she offered a tight smile. "I'm Nami; please don't go offering me a flower or anything. And _please_ tell me the dumbass didn't ask you to join our crew?"

The three of them shared a look, unsure if they should be insulted or not. "No?"

"Good. Because we are running low on supplies as it is. Luckily Sanji and Chopper managed to get most of what they needed in town before our _Captain_ here got spotted by the Marines."

"I was hungry!" Luffy pouted.

"You're always hungry!" Nami didn't sound angry any more, at least. More of fondly exasperated, like this happened a lot. "What happened to going right back to the ship, huh?"

"I was having an adventure!" Her Captain grinned. "See? I made friends!"

"An adventure, huh? And what about you, Zoro? Don't tell me you got lost again…"

"For the last time, I didn't get lost! If anything, the ship is lost!"

The Doctor snorted. "How can you lose a ship?"

"Oiy, like you're one to talk, Mister I-don't-know-where-I-parked-the-TARDIS." Rose poked him before noticing Nami was staring at the three of them standing there right outside the TARDIS.

The orange haired woman had a slightly pained expression on her face. "I'm not even going to ask how you all fit into that box."

"It's so cool Nami! It's a _mystery box_ and it's ca-"

"NOT ASKING!" She slapped a hand over Luffy's mouth. "I'm going to point out that the Marines are still looking for us, and with all the noise-"

"Who's fault is that?" Zoro groused and was ignored.

"-they're probably headed this way. So are your new friends coming with us?"

It was hard to say no to Luffy's hopeful expression, especially when Rose was giving him a look that said she kind of wanted to go. But it wasn't safe. Far too many people had seen and interacted with the TARDIS from this place when they shouldn't have been able to. They weren't safe here. She wasn't safe here. So he forced himself to look the young Captain who was so full of determination in the eyes and say no. "Maybe next time. Places to go, things to do."

Luffy's expression changed for a second, and it was almost frightening when the Doctor realized he was truly seeing the _Captain_ in that measuring look that seemed to take him all in. It was gone just as fast, replaced again with the easy going grin. "Sure! Next time, I'll show you my ship!"

"Come on, Luffy, we gotta go."

"Okay, Nami!"

The three of them watched as the trio of strange pirates left, not exactly rushing, but not exactly taking their time either. Rose finally broke the silence. "So, why aren't we staying?"

"Because I don't think this is a good place to be right now." The Doctor answered, not quite willing to lie to her.

"Why, what's so bad about it?"

"Maybe the fact that our new friend there has a bounty on his head?" Jack's fist connecting with the side of the TARDIS had them both turning to look at him in surprise.

There, stuck to the side of the blue police box was what could only be called a wanted poster with a picture of one Monkey D. Luffy on the front. He was grinning happily at the camera, part of the shot obscured by his hand. Below his name was a number, followed by personal information and what seemed to be a list of his crimes.

"Dead or alive?" Rose looked at him, then at Jack. "They don't actually mean that, right? They just put that there, right?"

The Doctor took a calming breath, pulling the offending paper off his beloved box and shoving it in his pocket. "No. They mean it. Come one Rose, we're leaving. Jack?"

"Yeah yeah. I'm coming." Jack followed them in, grim faced as he locked the doors against a world so corrupt it set bounties on seventeen year olds. "I gotta ask Doctor, because, maybe I was reading it wrong… but 100,000,000 Beli, that's excessive, isn't it?"

"That's roughly 152,000,000 in British Pounds in the year 2010." The Doctor turned his attention away from the controls he was furiously focusing on to glower at Jack, even though he knew his friend didn't deserve it at all. "So _yeah_, that seems excessive to me."

"Then couldn't we…"

"We can't, and I mean CAN NOT get involved." He looked at Rose, begging her to understand. "I can't fix this. I _can't_. There's something here that's wrong, and I know it is, but I can't fix it. Because I can't tell what is wrong yet. But I promise you, I'll figure it out, okay Rose? Trust me. I'll figure it out, and I'll come back and I'll help him then. Alright?"

Rose Tyler looked at him with those big eyes of hers, much like Luffy had. She offered him a tentative smile, apparently either believing him, or knowing he needed her to believe in him. "Alright. Okay then. Where to next?"

"How about this little bar I know?"

* * *

The TARDIS set down with a wheezing gasping sound that woke the Doctor from his light doze. When the Pond's had gone to bed, _he_ had decided to stay up and arrange a bit of a surprise for them. Being that this was for _Amy and Rory_, he knew it was going to have be something fantastic, The "wow" factor of most places and times just wasn't there when you had the Last Centurion and The Girl Who Waited as your traveling companions. You had to just love the Ponds, even if they did make him work just a bit harder to surprise them. It was worth it. The TARDIS thought so too, or he like to think so. Then again, the Old Girl was always taking him to amazing places, so it was hard to tell sometimes. Still, it took a long time for the TARDIS to settle on a time and place, letting him know they arrived with a ding, in case he didn't hear the landing noise.

Excitedly the Doctor shut everything down, debating if he should wake up his companion or just go exploring while they were sleeping. Just a little bit. Just right outside the door, really. Not far at all… he loved new places. Really, they'd be able to figure out he was _outside_ right? He hadn't even finished the thought before he found himself standing on what looked like a soft grassy field overlooking the sea. A tree swing creaked as it rocked gently in the salty breeze as he stood there, taking in the starry sky reflecting off the gentle waters. Strangely, there looked like there were stairs leading down to the field on both sides, but it was too dark to really make out where they lead after the brightness of the TARDIS interior. The Doctor didn't let it bother him as he instead made his way over to the rail guarding the unwary from falling into the ocean below. He was about half way there when he paused, noticing a most unusual plant. It had a delicate pale cream looking stalk with leaves that resembled very delicate human/timelord ears and a flower that looked remarkably like a tiny eye.

"Amazing." He knelt, pulling out his sonic screwdriver to further investigate. He was surprised to see that the reading came back as a human. "Well, that just can't be right, now can it?" He asked the flower, slapping the screwdriver against his palm.

The flower predictably said nothing, continuing to 'stare' at him.

That never stopped him. "You see, this here says you're human. But obviously you're not. Because, well, for one thing, there would be more of you." He paused, checking the readings again. Still human. He frowned. "Plus, you're a plant. A very odd plant." The readings _still_ showed human. That tore it, he had to get to the bottom of this. Looking at the plant the Doctor came to the conclusion that he had two options to test the results of his screwdriver, and the little plant wasn't going to like either. "Sorry about this…" He braced himself over the plant and opened his mouth, intending to lick it.

The 'eye' blinked right before the whole thing vanished in a flurry of pedals, causing the Doctor to fall back on his rear, mouth still open in surprise. He had most definitely _not _been expecting that kind of reaction. Actually, he felt a little insulted, since the other choice had been to pull the plant out of the ground.

"What are you doing?" The voice was cool and amused; a bit like River's but different, too. He turned his head to the side, mouth snapping shut as he found himself staring at a woman in a sari-like skirt and a very tight dark leather vest. He was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to zipper it up all the way, but she made a valiant attempt. Apparently she noticed he was a bit distracted and crouched down next to the Doctor, a knowing smile on her face.

"Excuse me?"

"I was merely wondering what you were doing."

"Oh. OH!" He spun, pointing to where the flower had been, "There was this, this flower, and I was going to lick it."

"Were you?" Funny, usually when he said stuff like that people stopped smiling at him.

"Yes. You see, my readings kept saying it was _human_...but then it sort of vanished."

"I see. Maybe it did not wish to be licked?"

The Doctor's brow furrowed, "I hadn't thought of that. Oh, I'm The Doctor, by the way."

"Really?" Her smile changed slightly, like he had just said something very funny. "Then I suppose I won't have to snap your neck and throw you overboard before the Captain returns with his snack."

Well, he didn't much like the sound of that. Not at all. The Doctor leaned further away from the woman who was still smiling at him. She was blocking the way to the TARDIS. "Er, why would you want to go do a thing like that?"

"You _are_ trespassing on a pirate ship."

"Really?" He looked around at the grassy field he was sitting on, the tree with it's swing and wrap-around bench he could just make out in the dark. He didn't really believe her, but, really, who was he to judge? He'd seen a spaceship city on the back of a whale; his own TARDIS looked like a police box. "Fantastic."

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" There was a dull smacking sound; like a door slamming open, and the woman let out a slight chuckle. "It sounds like the Captain has finished his snack." The Doctor wasn't sure if he _wanted_ to meet the captain of such a strangely intimidating woman. He squashed the voice in the back of his head that reminded him that she was a bit like River.

"Robin, are you ok?" He turned his head when he heard the sound of someone landing on the grass with a thud. The voice wasn't afraid or angry, just inquisitive. The lighting was still too poor to make out who was speaking.

"I'm fine, Luffy." Robin stood, turning to the source of the voice as the timelord sat there and tried to figure out why he knew that name. It wasn't a common name by any stretch of the imagination. "I believe you have a visitor."

He was more surprised than he'd ever admit out loud when he recognized the young man wearing an open red shirt and blue cutoff shorts. The shirt wasn't much of a change from the vest the other used to wear, and the Doctor rather did like the addition of the yellow sash. He was sure it'd match the color of the straw hat he would bet was hanging from the young man's neck. Jumping to his feet he noticed that the dark haired pirate had grown, or was it that the Doctor had lost height? Probably both, it was so hard to keep track of these things. "Luffy! My, I haven't seen you in _ages_!"

"Eh?" Those wide eyes blinked at him as the young man took a step back to avoid the hug. "Who are you?"

"He say's he's 'The Doctor'." Robin answered, watching with a cool smile. He got the feeling that if for any reason she thought he was lying to her captain he was a dead man. It wasn't a comfortable feeling, giving he didn't look the same as he did.

"Er, yes. About that. You see…." He held up a hand to stall any hasty decisions. "I _am_ the Doctor. I'm what you'd call a Timelord, which means that I-"

A bone-crushing hug interrupted him. "Doctor!"

"Can't breathe-!"

"Shihihihi! Sorry!" Luffy let go with an impossibly wide grin. "You look different! So cool! How'd you find us?"

"My TARDIS just brought us here." He shrugged. "How did you know it was me?"

It was Luffy's turn to shrug. "You felt like you. OH! We should wake up everyone so you can meet them!"

"Or I can finish the watch for you Luffy, while you catch up with your friend. Then you can surprise everyone when they wake up." Robin suggested. "You know how the others can be."

The younger man- it was hard to think of him as the Captain even though the Doctor knew it must be true- thought about it for a moment. "Good idea, Robin! Thanks."

The woman smiled in response. "You're welcome, Captain."

"Come on! I'll show you my favorite seat!" Luffy half cheered, flashing him a grin as he tugged the Doctor along before the man even had a chance to thank the woman himself. He was half-dragged half-led up a flight of stairs and then right up another flight. At the top of the stairs there was a large wheel.

"This is a ship?"

Luffy just looked back at him, still walking backwards towards yet another set of stairs. "Of course it is! Where did you think you were?"

"Well, I don't know really." The Doctor looked around the darkened deck. Not that he was able to see much in the poor lighting. "A bluff maybe? This is so much better though!" He was quick to follow Luffy up the new set of stairs and was quite surprised when Luffy ducked around what looked like a large pointed spire.

The doctor followed at a more sedate pace, looking around at what little he could see in the rising gloom. He almost didn't catch himself in time when his foot slipped against the slightly slick painted surface he was walking on. A quick glance down showed him the ocean, many many feet below, and he swallowed convulsively, realizing how close he had come to falling into that ocean. With much more care he made his way over to where Luffy sat, looking off into the distance. He took a seat next to the young pirate and looked around, taking note of the wide expanse of water around them. If he hadn't believed the other's claim that the were on a ship before, he did now. But what a ship it seemed to be. He could hardly wait to explore it… after the sun came up and he didn't have to worry about falling in.

"I can see why this is your favorite spot."

"It's my special seat." Luffy hummed.

They sat in silence for a moment. "This is your ship then? The Merry was it?" The Doctor asked. "Brilliant."

"It is, isn't it? But, it's not the Going Merry." The smile faltered. "Merry's gone now. Well, there's the mini-Merry Franky built, so she's still with us. But it's not the same." The pain was still there, it didn't take a 'doctor' to see it. He wondered a bit at that, how attached humans could be to things. Luffy turned back to him, throwing his arms wide."This is Sunny! Thousand Sunny! Isn't it amazing?"

"Very."

"Franky built it. Franky's my shipwright, and he's a pervert." Luffy ran his hand along the yellow wood they sat on. "He built Sunny, and he takes care of it so we can finish our journey together, right, Sunny?"

"He built it? What sort of material did he use?" He ran a hand along their perch as well. The surface was so smooth and hard under them, but yet warm.

"Adams Wood."

"Wood?" The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "Would you mind if I?"

"What's that do?"

"Oh, all sorts of things." He waved it around. "I was going to use it to find out more about this Adams Wood. I've never heard of it."

"Shihihi, you could just ask Franky. Or Robin."

"The woman who threatened to snap my neck? Maybe later." Or never. River might get jealous if she found out he was talking to another psychotic woman, after all.

"So is your Nakama still sleeping? You know, that blonde girl and the funny Captain-guy."

The question took the Doctor by surprise. He hadn't spoken with anyone who knew Jack or Rose in a long, long time. It hurt, really. Both to think about Rose Tyler and to realize how deeply he'd shoved it all inside. It was like some part of him felt if no one knew, no one mentioned it, he could ignore the pain still buried deep in his hearts. A foolish hope, since it never worked for Gallifrey, either. It just made the mere mention of either to bring on an almost crippling sense of loss. He should know better. "Well." He cleared his throat, wondering how to tell the other. After all, he'd only met them once. "Jack and Rose aren't traveling with me anymore...they're fine, no need to worry about that, though! Off doing their own thing…"

"Oh." Luffy nodded, looking back out to the sea. The sun was beginning to rise, painting the water in vibrant golds. The Timelord supposed he couldn't really blame the other for his disinterest. Again, he'd only met them once, and for a short time at that. Still, it rubbed him wrong, to have Rose and Jack just dismissed like that. "Vivi did that."

"Vivi?" He half-prompted, turning his attention back to his sonic screwdriver. If nothing else it stopped him from getting too annoyed with the teen.

Luffy nodded, sighing. "She couldn't travel with us anymore, even though she really wanted to, cauz she was a Princess. I _wanted_ her to stay!" He let out an explosive huff, looking at the Doctor. "It wasn't fair. Her country needed her, but we needed her, too! I let her decide, and she's not on the crew anymore, but she's still my Nakama."

"Is she now?" He met Luffy's eyes in passing and in them he saw that the young Pirate meant every word. The old cynical part that still hurt each time he left his companions behind - or they left him stung at the boy's naivete. "Even though she left you?"

"Of course! Nakama is forever, right?" Dark eyes shone with conviction, and finally the Doctor realized why the word didn't always seem to translate.

He thought back to all of his companions, gone on with their lives, and all the time they shared. He remembered each and every one, and they remembered him, or had those who would remember _for_ them. They had been friends, crewmates, _family_ for however long they'd stayed. And they still were, even if they weren't on board the TARDIS any longer. For the first time he really saw the young man sitting next to him. A simple man with a dream. Yet still, he had realized in his short life what the Doctor so often overlooked. He felt his face break out into a warm smile, a _real_ smile. "Yes. Nakama is forever."

The two of them sat there, content in their understanding. Of course, it was possible his current company had actually moved onto deeper thoughts, if the almost silent chant of 'Meat, meat, food soon' was anything to go by. Even so, it was peaceful, watching the sun rise from this special seat. His phone buzzed, starting to sing out in that annoying-yet-catchy song Amy had picked out for his ringtone. He ignored it, more interested in the sight in front of him. There wasn't any land to be seen, and he thought there just might be some sort of serpent or monster off in the distance.

"What's that sound? A tone dial?"

"Oh no, that's just my phone, see?" The Doctor dug into pocket, pulling out the device and showing it off. "It's a communication device."

"Like a transponder snail?"

He blinked at the translation the TARDIS provided. "How on earth would you communicate using a snail…?" That was a mystery for later, though. "You could say so. Look; you just open it like this and speak into it. Hello there!"

"Doctor? Doctor, where are you?" Amy's voice hissed out, a slight note of hysteria in her tone. "There's a _man with three swords trying to get into the TARDIS!_"

The Doctor let out a shout, leaping to his feet. "Ah! Amy and Rory!" The hard leather soles of his shoes slipped on the slightly curved wood, almost sending him tumbling into the sea and causing Luffy to laugh as he scrambled to catch his footing and get around the orange spire blocking the rest of the ship from view.

The stairs would have done him in if Luffy hadn't been following him. Before he took a nosedive, a rubbery hand latched onto his arm and steadied him. "Who are Amy and Rory?"

"My friends! I left them asleep in the TARDIS!" He leaping off the last few steps and over the short creature that seemed to be about to go up the stairs and landing in the grass. He recognized the green haired fellow who was currently pounding on the door of his beloved blue box. "Hello there, excuse me. Zoro, wasn't it?" He panted, sliding between the glowering man and the door without looking up and tried the door. It was locked, not that he was surprised. He knocked lightly on the door. "Amy, Rory? It's me. I need to to unlock the door now."

Rory's reply was muffled, be he could still hear his friend clearly. "Doctor? Is that madman gone then?" Judging by the snort behind him, Zoro could hear him, too.

"Ah, no. About that. Well, why not open the door and see for yourself?"

"No. Not until you do something about the lunatic with the swords, Doctor."

"Amy! Sorry about this. She's very Scottish, you know." He turned to offer Zoro a sheepish grin while his companions argued right on the other side of the door, which the man didn't return at all. Instead his forest green eye just studied him. "And what happened to your face since the last time I saw you? No, no, never mind that now." The lock clicked, and he opened the door a crack. "I'll just be right back. Just going to… straighten things out."

Amy was on him the moment he slipped into the TARDIS, face inches from his giving him that look she got when he'd done something particularly foolish. "Just what have you gotten us into this time, Raggedy Man?"

"Now Amy, there's no reason to get so upset!"

"There was a man trying to kill me!"

"Well, he wasn't _really_ trying-"

"_Doctor!_" He threw up his hands in defeat.

"I should have been here to warn you, I'll admit it. But Amy, he wasn't trying to kill you, honest."

"You don't know that. You can't know that, right?" Rory put in, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"No, I'm quite sure. Trust me on this. If that man wanted to kill you, you'd be dead. He wasn't trying to kill you though."

Amy huffed in annoyance, the anger and panic gone. She was an old pro at these kinds of situations, and despite her fiery reaction she was more practical than anything else."Then what was he doing?"

"More than likely trying to figure out how a blue police box ended up on the deck of their ship." He admitted freely.

The Ponds looked at each other for a moment before Rory turned back to him. "Wait, when you say ship, do you mean _ship_-ship, or _spaceship_-ship?"

The Doctor's face broke into a grin, like a child on Christmas. "It's a _ship_-ship, but Rory, what a ship it is! Wait till you see it! Of course, I couldn't see much because it was dark out at the time-"

"Dark? How long were you out there?"

"Oh, for quite a while. We were 'catching up', you could say." He continued to smile at them.

"So, you know these people, then?" Amy asked. "Are they friends of yours?"

"Yes! Well, no. Maybe." He spun around, trying to think about how to explain it. "I've only met three of them before, and it wasn't for all that long really. That must have been, oh, ages ago for them…" He frowned, realizing that it might have been a good idea to actually 'catch up' with Luffy instead of just watching the sun rise. Too late for that now, though. "But we're welcome! So, you see, it's safe to leave. Just don't mind Zoro, his bark is worse than his- huh I'd suppose his bite would be worse- never mind that now! He's harmless!" He pulled open the door, and Zoro was still standing there with his arms crossed giving him a cold stare. He quickly amended his statement. "Mostly harmless."

Zoro raised his eyebrow and turned his head to the side slightly to look behind himself at Luffy. Apparently the two had been having a conversation because when the swordsman looked back at them he smirked slightly. It didn't make him look any less intimidating, though. Letting out a wide yawn the man moved away, letting both the Doctor and the Ponds leave the TARDIS at long last. What a sight the deck was in the soft morning light. Dew covered the grass and the leaves on the tree. The Doctor could see to higher decks on either side, and the tip of the very orange spire he'd almost fell twice trying to get around. It dawned on him that he'd been sitting on the figurehead of the ship all morning. The crew was obviously starting to wake, sounds coming from different parts of the ship. Not that the green haired swordsman hadn't been a good clue to that.

"Do you see that, Rory? Is that a _tree_?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I think it is." The man held tight to his wife's hand, though it was unclear if it was for support or to prevent her from running off and exploring on her own. With the Ponds, it was more than likely some combination of the two.

"WHAA! How did the three of you fit into that?!" The small brown creature from before exclaimed, pointing at the blue police box in distress and looking at Luffy who was now laughing loudly. "Luffy, do you know them?"

The dark haired youth grinned down at the being. "This is that guy with the mystery box!"

Big eyes stared up at the Time Lord. "Really?! SO COOOOL!"

"Yes, I am cool, arent I? I'm even _cooler_ with a fez." He crouched down to get a better look as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver. Whatever it was, it was wearing clothes. A vertically striped yellow and white shirt did nothing to make it look taller. Though he admitted that the blue hat has an interesting attempt.

"I'm Chopper!"

"Why hello there Chopper." He glanced down at his readings. "You're a reindeer? Well, I can't say I've ever met a reindeer quite like you before, now can I?"

"You know what I am?" Chopper turned his attention back to Luffy, sounding shocked. "He got it right, Luffy!"

"You don't much look like a reindeer to me." Amy put in, causing the little reindeer to pout.

Luffy knelt down next to the small creature. "Chopper here ate the hito-hito no mi." He beamed, like it explained everything. The Doctor was sure that in this world it probably did, but it wasn't much help to him right now. "He's our doctor!"

Rory looked shocked. "Wait, you mean to tell me you're a doctor?"

"Yep!" the little creature cheered enthusiastically. "So come to me if you're feeling funny, alright?"

"What about if we're feeling fine?" The Doctor asked, glancing over at the still shell-shocked Rory. He knew that soon enough his friend would be wishing he'd taken the time to compare notes with the odd little doctor. "Can we stop by to see you anyway?"

Chopper grinned, pointing to one of the doors along the deck. "Sure! I have to work on some stuff today, so I should be in the medical room." He beamed up at Luffy. "Usopp said those plants would be ready today. I'm so excited! If I can extract the antibodies from them, Nami won't have to worry about her trees!"

"Shihihi, I'm sure you can do it, Chopper!"

"Unn! I'm gonna go see if Usopp needs any help! See you at breakfast, Luffy! Luffy's friends!"

Rory pointed after the swiftly retreating deer. "That-he's. Amy. He's a doctor. It's a walking _talking_ deer and he's a doctor."

"Yes, Rory, I know." She patted his arm, a grin on her face.

"Bu- I just let him walk away." Brown eyes looked between his wife and his best friend, hound dog's. "I'm a nurse, Amy. I could have maybe _learned_ something from him. Imagine. A talking reindeer _doctor_."

"I don't see why this surprises you, Mr. Last Centurion." Amy teased. "Not after the things _we've_ seen. Or done, for that matter."

"But he was just so. I donno. Cute?"

"He was, wasn't he?" She agreed, leaning on Rory. "Well then. There's just no hope for it, is there? We'll just have to stop by the medical room and see him later, right?"

"R-right? Wait, we can do that?"

"...We lost you at doctor, didn't we Rory?"

"Yeah, sorry, you did."

"Shihihihi! You're funny, I like you!"

"Er, thanks. I think." Rory nodded before looking at the Doctor expectantly. Amy was a little more direct. She glared at him and cleared her throat, reminding him that he'd yet to explain where they were.

"Oh, right! Right! Amy, Rory, this is Luffy. Luffy, meet the Ponds."

"Doctor. _Where are we_?"

"You're on my ship!" Luffy beamed at Amy. "Thousand Sunny!"

"When you say your ship…" Rory began, only to be cut off.

"I'm the Captain."

"Right. Just checking." He leaned over and whispered to the Doctor. "Are we sure it wasn't that green haired guy?"

"Zoro? No, no. He does look more the part of a pirate Captain, though, doesn't he?"

"_Pirate_?!"

"Yep!" Luffy cut in again. "I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

"How do Pirates even have a King?" Amy asked. The Doctor had to admit, he was curious himself.

Unfortunately, Luffy was no help. He just shrugged. "Donno. The last King died a long time ago, so now I gotta find his treasure first, and then I'll be King." Somehow he got the feeling that there was a lot more to the story than that. Just like he got the feeling that his friend here didn't really care all that much about the details, at least not at that moment.

"That's...not very helpful." Rory pointed out.

"Mmm, Robin knows more about stuff like 'why' and 'how'. You could ask her."

"She was the woman from early this morning, right?" Luffy nodded. "So, let's see. There's you, Zoro, Chopper and Robin. Oh, and Chopper mentioned an Usopp and Nami. That wouldn't happen to be the same Nami, would it?"

"Shihihi, it is!"

Amy looked up from where she'd been running her hand along the lush soft grass. "That's a small crew for such a large ship, isn't it?"

"There's also Sanji, Franky and Brook." Luffy replied, counting them off on his fingers. "Vivi doesn't travel with us anymore and Jinbie said maybe later, so that's it for now. Ah! But Toru-guy was here for a bit! That was a lot of fun! He makes the _best_ faces!"

Amy cut him off, having lots of practice stopping rambles before they started. "That's still only what, _nine_ crew members on board?" He nodded. "And Rory and I've met a third already. I still say that's a small crew."

"Lots of people say that." Luffy admitted. "But you know what we got that other crews don't?"

"What?"

"_Everyone_ has bounties! Even Rayleigh said that was impressive, and he should know, he was on Roger's crew."

The Doctor was going to put that statement down as another one someone else was going to have to clarify for him. If not he was going to need to see if little Chopper had anything for headaches. Come to think of it..."I'd love to meet the rest of your crew!" He grinned, spinning on his heel and smacking right into something. It was odd, because he didn't remember there being anything behind him a minute ago, let alone something so hard and unyielding as whatever it was he'd hit.

"D-doctor…"

He backed up, ignoring Amy for the moment as he tilted his head back to get a better view of what he had hit. First all he saw was feathers. Lots and lots of yellowish orange feathers. And a black button shirt with a baby blue scarf of some sort. His gaze trailed up further still, much taller than any _human_ he'd ever encountered to the grinning skull bearing down at him. It was quite a stylish skull, even if it didn't have a fez. The Doctor rather thought that the afro and crown gave it it's own sort of charm, and he really liked those sunglasses. Reminded him of London in the early eighties. He turned, offering Amy a sheepish grin. "Didn't see that there."

"Ah. I'm sorry. I was just admiring your box, and didn't see you either."

"Yes, it is rather a nice box, isn't- holy- You can talk?!"

The skeleton inclined it's torso slightly, jaw gaping as it spoke. "Except I have no eyes to _see with_! Yohoho! Skull Joke!"

Rory, ever the cautious hero reached out and poked a skeletal hand. "Is it a puppet?"

"I, sir." The skeleton moved, hand resting on it's breastbone as it leaned in. "Am a _Super Star_! I am known all over the grand line as _The Soul King_!" His tone became lighter, less aloof as he chuckled. "But I am just a Luffy-san's humble musician, Brook."

"So wait… you're a musician. But you're a skeleton. How does that even work?" Amy asked. "Aren't you dead?"

"It breaks my heart to hear you say that….except I have no heart." The Doctor fought his natural instinct to push Amy behind him when he caught Luffy grinning at the lot of them and decided to let the strange bony creature approach, even if his friend was obviously weirded out by it. "I ate the yomi-yomi no mi, miss. Now, would you mind terribly if…"

"If what?" Amy shifted slightly, leaning against Rory.

"If you'd show me your panties?"

"WHAT?!" Her screech was indignant.

"THAT'S MY WIFE!" Rory shouted, pushing Amy behind his back and actually shoving the now laughing skeleton with enough force to send it stumbling back a few steps. "Oy, you think that's funny?"

"Excuse me… I just….Yohohoho….ask….hohoho all the ladies...hohoho…" Brook gasped, an impressive feat for one who had no lungs. The Time Lord winced when he realized now he was making 'Skull Jokes'. The boney man stood straight once more, having collected himself, though Luffy was still off to the side laughing. "It breaks the ice, you could say. People find me to be, ah, disturbing? Outside of the crew, that is."

"So, you really are dead?" The Doctor couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, my body is just bones." A finely boned hand, not one he'd expect to find on a pirate, reached out and rested on his shoulder. "But do not mourn, because if I wasn't like this, I would have never met Luffy-san and my Nakama."

He offered a waine little smile, not surprised that this walking impossibility had seen the pity the Doctor knew he couldn't keep entirely off his face. "Always on the bright side, eh?"

"With Luffy-san, it's hard not to be." If skulls could smile, this one would be. Brook spoke louder, turning to the young Captain of the ship. "Robin already spoke to the rest of the crew. Sanji is making extra for breakfast and kindly asks that you stay out of the kitchen, Luffy."

"But I'm hungry!"

Empty eyes turned back to the three of them. "Luffy-san is _always_ hungry." Brook joked, "Eating with our crew is not an adventure for the faint of heart."

"Na, Brook, I'm going to give them a tour of the ship. Wanna come?" Luffy cut in.

"I would, but I have morning watch." It was obvious that Amy and Rory were a little relieved to hear this. "I shall see you at breakfast, though."

"Ok, see you then!" The young captain waved as the skeleton walked off before turning his attention back to the three of them. "So, what do you want to see? We can't go to the kitchen, because Sanji's a meanie, but there's still plenty of other stuff I can show you."

"Sanji is your cook than?" Rory asked, "Is he any good?"

Luffy grinned widely, "The best! Wait till you taste his food! It's amazing!"

"Alright then." With a huff Amy seemed to shake off all the weirdness and took charge as usual, looking the youngest dead in the eyes. "You're the captain, right? Then get to captaining! Show us around!"

"Where?"

"I donno! It's your ship!" Amy might later have come to regret those words as Luffy seemed to take them to heart.

What happened next could only be called a whirlwind tour as the teen dragged them all about the ship. First he showed them the men's quarters. A conglomeration of bunks, a couch, and very little else. Women's quarters were up next, and they were much more roomy, though they did have to peek through the door in case Nami was about. Apparently there was a rule that none of the men were allowed in there without permission. _Even_ the Captain of the ship. Which of course lead them all to wonder why he didn't have his own quarters. Luffy just laughed it off. Next up was the baths, which were nearly as impressive as the TARDIS baths, all things considering. What the Doctor liked most was the docking system, though. The smaller vessels held in the belly of the ship were unique to say the least, but somehow felt appropriate. The best part? When Rory had asked where the cannons were, Luffy had just looked at him blankly for a moment before confiding that the _Sunny_ didn't have any. By then a distant shout was heard from somewhere on the ship and Luffy froze for a second, quivering.

The three of them were instantly on alert, and Rory reached out to their new friend, "Is something wrong?"

The grin that stretched his cheeks was once again impossibly wide, and his eyes sparkled, "_Breakfast!_" He was off like a shot, leaving them behind with a call of, "Hurry up! It's breakfast time!"

"Slow down, will you?" Amy laughed, running after him and pulling herself up the ladder, "it's not going anywhere."

"It might! What if everyone else eats it all?"

"They wouldn't do that to you, would they?" The Doctor panted, being the last in line as they reached the door to what he assumed was the kitchen.

Luffy shrugged, "I would. Maybe. If I was _really_ hungry. And they were late. So don't be late, right, everyone?"

"Luffy! What took you so long?" A woman with pulled up bright orange-red hair snapped as she looked up. Modesty didn't seem to be an issue on the ship, since she wore a tight fitted bikini top that barely covered her. He almost dreaded to see what else she wore when she stood to greet them, but was relieved to see it was pants. Even if they did ride low and fit snugly. "I'm Nami. Better hurry and grab a seat before the boys eat all the food."

"That really _is_ a problem here?"

"Well, we are pirates." She smiled in reply before making her way back to the table and roughly slamming a fork down scant centimeters from Luffy's hand as he reached for her plate.

"When did he get over there?" Rory wondered causing Amy to shake her head as she dragged them both to the table.

"I have no idea, but I'm not missing out on food."

"You all can have our seats." Brook spoke up from the counter where he stood with Zoro and a man who could not _possibly_ be human. His arms were massive and looked mechanical, and his nose was definitely made out of metal. When the Doctor's gaze traveled downwards he saw that it wasn't just the women who had little modesty on this ship. The man was wearing a speedo. Ignoring Amy's gasp he continued to look at the strange creature before him and saw his legs were wrapped in metal as well.

He couldn't help but ask, "Robot?"

"Who me?" A large hand pointed to himself and the man-like being grinned, "Nah, much cooler than that. I'm Cyborg Franky!"

"A cyborg?" His hearts stuttered, thinking of the cybermen for a moment.

"Yeah, made all my upgrades myself. Cool, huh?" a small compartment in the large hand opened up and a smaller hand came out to pick up a fork as he held a plate in the other massive hand. "Heard Luffy-bro gave you a tour. Whacha think of _Thousand Sunny_?"

Rory seemed to recover first, "You-you're the one who built the ship, right?" Franky nodded. "It's amazing!"

"Thanks, bro!"

"Oiy! Curly-brow, you going to let them just stand here?" Zoro half shouted over the din.

"What was that you shitty Marimo?" A tall blonde in a three-piece suit with an eyebrow that curled strangely was there in Zoro's face in a flash. Zoro just lazily pointed at them and the blond followed his finger, his expression changing in an instant. "Madmoizelle!" He half-danced around Amy and lead her to the table then pulled out Amy's chair for her, leaving the men to fend for themselves. "Allow me, my lady. What would you like, princess?"

"Some breakfast?"

"Right away!" He presented three plates, giving Amy hers with a bit more flare. "You assholes better not try to steal from this beauty's plate. You got that?"

"Shihihihi!"

A foot lifted up and slammed heel first into Luffy's head. The Doctor supposed he should have mentioned it to the Ponds that Luffy was made out of rubber when they gasped first in shock and then surprise when the teen kept eating. "HEY! Don't laugh at me, you shitty captain! I gave you more than enough! Eat your own damn food and leave some for the rest of us!"

Chopper tugged on the Doctor's sleeve from his place right next to him, "Don't worry about Sanji, he won't hurt Luffy."

"Luffy, come on! I was going to use that!" A long nosed fellow snapped, trying to grab at whatever it was that Luffy had taken from his plate.

"Usopp, if you stopped playing with your food and ate it, there would be less of it there for him to steal." Robin said, calmly sipping tea.

"I thought he'd be too distracted with the new guys." Usopp muttered before noticing them looking at him. "Uh...hi? I'm, er, Usopp! Also known as Sogeking, the world's best sniper!" He smirked, thumbing his nose before turning his attention back to guarding his plate with a cry.

"I believe I have yet to meet your friends, Doctor." Robin smiled slightly.

"Oh, yes! Amy, Rory, this is Robin. I ran into her this morning."

"Yes. You tried to lick me."

"I did no such thing!" Someone tapped his shoulder and he hunched further over his plate incase it was a trick by Luffy before turning to look. He almost leapt onto the table in shock when he saw the arm that had sprouted out of the back of his chair. It waved cheekily at him before pointing back towards the table and vanishing in a flurry of flower petals much like the strange plant from this morning had. Turning back around he cautiously straightened. "Or, I guess I did. Sorry about that?"

"How...how did you do that?" Amy asked, wide eyed.

"The hana hana no mi." Robin waved an arm and sprouted several more before they vanished just as quickly. "I'm sure Luffy didn't bother to explain."

Amy glowered at the small teen. "No, he didn't!"

"Of course the rubber idiot didn't. When does he ever-Luffy, drop that, it's mine!" Nami snapped, interrupting herself. "It's a devil fruit power. Devil fruits can give you amazing abilities but there's a cost. People who eat them can't swim, ever. Oh, and you can only eat one, or you'll explode. We have four members with powers on board."

"Four?" Rory asked.

"Mmm! Chopper, Robin, Brook and me." Luffy acknowledged.

"You?"

The young captain turned and looked at Rory, smiling brightly and hooking a finger in the corner of his mouth, "Yep! I ate the gumm gumm no mi. I'm a rubber man." He stretched his lip out well past human limits.

"Well, that's a bit… creepy." Amy admitted, causing the teen to laugh. "But then, why are you pirates? If you can't swim, it doesn't seem very safe."

"It's an adventure!" Luffy cheered, "Being a pirate is being free!"

"Couldn't you be just a free on _land_?" The Doctor had to agree it was a good question.

"Nami, perhaps it would be better if you brought a map." Robin smiled.

"I might as well. Breakfast is over anyway, and we shouldn't have to adjust our course for a few hours at least. Who's on watch?"

Zoro stretched, walking towards the door. "Me."

"Try not to fall asleep you shitty marimo."

"You wanna start something love-cook?"

"Anytime, drunk!"

"Bring it, curly-brow!"

"Yohohoho! So lively this morning, it warms my heart, Franky-san. Ah-but I don't have a heart." Brook shook his skeletal head, bony hands on Zoro's shoulders as he steered the living member from the room.

"Yeah, it's Suuuuupa! Usopp-bro, I'm gonna be in the workshop today working on the Battle Franky, if you wanna help."

"Cool! I'll stop by later after I give Chopper a hand then, alright?"

"Sure, bro." Franky nodded, before leaving as well.

"Lively bunch." The Doctor commented, earning a grin from Luffy as he helped clear the plates. It wasn't long before Nami returned with a long rolled up piece of parchment and placed with with some care on the the table, anchoring the four corners down with empty glasses.

"This obviously isn't a _complete_ map, since one hasn't been made yet-"

"Nami's making it!" Luffy cheered, and the woman looked very pleased by the praise even as she glared at him for the interruption.

She cleared her throat. "As I was saying, It's not complete, but it should give you some idea, since I take it you're not from one of the Seas." It was obviously a very sparse map, with only four major land masses, the most noticeable being a band down the center of the map. The other three were scattered in three of the four separate quadrants that the T.A.R.D.I.S. instantly translated into _East, West, South_ and_ North Blue_ respectively. Cutting across diagonally, a thin band of what appeared to be a fifth sea was marked, called _The Grand Line_. Nami pointed to the largest land mass, "This is called _The Red Line_, and as you can see, it cuts through the _Grand Line_, marking off all four seas. It's also supposedly where most of the World Nobles live… Anyway. We're over here," She pointed somewhere on the Grand Line and it must have meant something the way Luffy grinned, "the second half of the _Grand Line_, which people call the _New World_." That would explain the grin, he supposed. "There are thousands, _millions_ of small islands not on this map, obviously, but for the most part, everything is the ocean. So, even the biggest islands have a strong relationship to it. Even if they're winter islands, or summer islands… lots of people just find their way out to sea, I guess."

"I see." The Doctor smiled at his own bad pun, earning a heavy poke by Amy. "Where we're from, or Amy and Rory at least, there's a lot of water, too. But I do think you have Earth quite beat." He rummaged in his pockets for a while before pulling out a map of Earth. Checking it over he noticed it was very out of date; the Soviet Union was still on it for one thing, and he was pretty sure Australia was drawn a little off, "It's not the most accurate, but here. Earth!" Nami instantly snatched the map from him and started combing over it, pointing out things to Robin as she went. It was no surprise that Luffy grew bored at some point and wandered off, saying something about fishing and a promise not to fall in this time.

"So, if there's all this water… why would someone eat a...fruit?... that takes away your ability to swim?" Rory's eyes darted between the two women, seeking the answer.

"Many reasons," Robin smiled, "Some of us for power, or an edge. Some for desperation, others on a whim. Or in the case of our Captain… an accident."

Amy gaped at them, "You're kidding!"

"He said he thought it was dessert." Nami smirked, "Of course, even as a kid, he kept eating it even though it tasted like shit. Devil fruits are nasty tasting."

The ship rocked precariously in the water, sending the glasses holding the maps sliding to the floor with a crash. Rory and Amy looked around in a panic while the Doctor quickly picked up the maps, trying to prevent them from getting any water damage as he wondered what had caused the sudden jarring motion. None of the other three occupants of the room looked even the slightest bit disturbed by the commotion. Robin offered him a sly smile as both she and Nami rose, the red-head muttering something about incompetent Captains. Sanji for his part calmy swept up the glass. "I'll be out shortly."

"I'm sure it's not anything _that_ big, Sanji." Nami waved him off.

The ship rocked again and the cook continued about his business. "I'll be out in five."

"Why? What is going on out there?" Amy asked, green eyes wide. When she didn't receive an answer right away she was quick to follow after the two women, her boys right behind her. "What's going on? Are we under attack or something?"

"Umm?" Nami half turned, apparently noticing them following for the first time, "Oh, it's nothing to worry about. I doubt it's more than a warship or two. Three at the most. Even Zoro would have called an alarm if there was more than three."

"Or he could be dead." Robin smiled. The Doctor was pretty sure she was joking, but her humor fell flat with him.

"Well, he sure _sleeps_ like the dead, that's for sure." Nami griped, striding on to the deck as is rocked violently once again, never once losing stride.

"Nami! We're all gonna die!"

"We're not going to die, Usopp-bro, they haven't even come close to hitting us." Franky's voice shot back from around the helm.

"I was hoping it was Smokey…"

Zoro yawned, "Luffy, even if it _was_ Smoker, he'd still be firing at us. He's a marine."

"But he's my friend!"

"How many are we looking at?" Nami's voice cut through the babble.

"Nami-chan, there are three battleships closing in from the starboard side. They're not within cannon range yet." A spray of water hit the rails, mocking Brook's claim.

The Doctor felt his hearts start to race. He had known his young friend Luffy was a pirate, and that he and his crew were wanted. It was one thing to know it, but it was something else to witness it. These battleships were not even giving the small vessel a chance to surrender, instead keeping up a steady barrage of fire before they were even in range. Worse still, he knew for a fact that the _Sunny_ wasn't armed with cannons herself. It wasn't a fair fight; it was a slaughter. Dalek against children, almost. Before he was even aware of it, he'd crossed the deck to stand behind the young Captain who sat watching the approaching ships from the rail with a bland expression. In his hearts he _knew_ the man- no, _boy_- didn't understand what was about to happen. He had to stop it. "Run." Luffy turned and looked at him, brow furrowing in obvious confusion. "Turn your sails, toss your cargo, _row_ if you have to! Just run."

Luffy frowned, turning his attention to Zoro. The green haired man smirked, "I say we wait for them to come to us, Luffy. No way I'm running from three lousy ships."

"I'm with the Doctor. I think we should run…." Usopp half whispered.

Franky laughed, "_Sunny_ can handle herself, if that's what you're worried about, ow!"

"It's your call, Captain." Robin smiled slightly as the rest of the deck fell silent. The Doctor could feel the tension in the air as Amy clung to Rory's hand and he hoped that Luffy would make the right choice and get them all away from the danger.

An infectious grin spread across the young man's face, "Let's go wild, everyone!"

As the raucous cries of agreement rang out he felt his hearts freeze. There would be no convincing them that discretion was the better course of valor. A small treacherous part of him said it was time to pack the Ponds into the TARDIS and get them all out of there. He didn't, though. If he did, he couldn't very well call himself the Doctor, after all. Instead he turned to Rory, eyes slightly wild, "Rory, take Amy and find a place to hide."

"Doctor!"

"Don't argue with me, Amy! Our _friends_ here are pirates." He pointed to where the large white sails of an approaching vessel could be seen. "_Those_ are marine vessels, full of marines who are going to want to _kill_ them. Us, too."

"So we should help them!"

"No." The boat shook as a cannonball landed precariously close to the hull. He had to make them understand. "We can't help them, Rory. We're greatly outnumbered, and I as much as I hate to admit it, our friends are in the wrong. They are the bad guys, Rory." Rory gave him that look. The one that said he was going to do what he thought was right anyway, inspite of the Doctor. He'd be a fool to think that Amy would stay behind in the TARDIS if Rory was going to fight. The other ships were so close now he could hear the shouts of those on board. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a cannon ball deflected by something, resulting in an aerial explosion that shook the mast. His grabbed Rory by the shoulder and looked into his eyes, ""Rory the Roman... if you insist on fighting, then go get yourself some proper equipment. And protect Amelia!"

"Oy! I can protect myself, Raggedy Man! Better then you can half the time."

He rolled his eyes giving them a shove in a likely direction, "Then _go_ already and find something to use. I don't care what it is Amelia Pond, but you will have some sort of armor."

There was just something so…_ Amy_ about the way she laughed at that as she dragged Rory after her. He just hoped there was something aboard the ship they could use. It hasn't looked like it earlier, but he really hadn't been looking around for weapons and armor during their rapid tour. He had no further time to worry about it, though. The sails from the other ship were right on top of them and strangers in white shirts were boiling over the rails like ants. Each and every one of them was armed and wasted no time in attacking. None of his piratical friends seemed to mind, rushing into the battle with what he could only call glee.

"Strong right! Who said you could get on the _Sunny_?"

"I don't think they care, Franky." Usopp grinned, lining up a shot with what looked like a slingshot. "Popgreen: javelin." A large group of the intruders were sent flying by a type of strange springy long grass, landing with splashes in the sea.

Luffy was laughing away despite the fact that most of the Marines seemed to be gathered around him. Worried for his young friend the Doctor stepped forward, half formed plans to talk to the Marines running in his head. He'd barely made it all of two steps before his presence was noticed and the Marines turned their guns on him. With a yelp he managed to dodge a few poorly aimed shots, whipping out his sonic screwdriver and effectively rendering the guns useless. "Sorry about that," He smiled sheepishly at the befuddled men staring at their guns, "but you were shooting at me. Couldn't have that. Not when I want to talk- HEY!" A sword neatly sliced through the fabric of his jacket, cutting him off as he lept back. If he had even been a second slower, he would have been badly wounded. "I'm unarmed!"

"You're still a pirate!" Another sword came at him and he was forced to dance out of the way again.

"But I'm not! I'm just visiting!"

"Then you're just as guilty!" He found that rather harsh. "Surrender or die, scum!"

"Can't we talk about this?"

"NO!" The men facing him all shouted.

Deciding discretion was the better part of valor in this case, the Doctor turned tail and fled further onto the increasingly crowded deck. He'd just have to try again. They couldn't all be that unreasonable. There was a cry of surprise, and the Doctor looked up, recognizing Amy's voice. The deck was full of people in white and blue and even craning his neck he couldn't see her. He knew she and Rory had hidden in along one of the upper decks at his request. A flash of fiery red hair, and suddenly he could see her. Amy was wielding a bucket with her usual vigor, actually managing to drive back the three Marines with her ferocity. He grinned, half cheering for his brave Amy. That is until one of the Marines recovered from his shock and pushed forward, swinging his sword with enough ferocity to cut her flimsy bucket in half. "AMY!" There were too many people in the way; each and every one of them trying to do him bodily harm. "Please! Let me through! I'm not a part of this…"

"Shut up, pirate scum!" A gun was pointed at him only for the arm holding it to be forced back at an odd angle and the man to drop with a cry.

"You should be more careful, Doctor."

"Yes, well, I don't need that from you." He snapped back, still focused on trying to get to the stairs. Amy had vanished from sight, but he thought he saw Rory, glorious Rory wielding a sword. He wasn't sure where the man had gotten it, but there were plenty about so he'd probably stolen it. "AMY! RORY!"

Luffy's voice rose above the din, "Zoro!"

The swordsman bulldozed through the crowd, an unstoppable force. He didn't even bother with the stairs. One moment he was on the deck, the next he was crouched on the railing where the Doctor had seen Rory last like a large bird of prey before he too vanished from sight. He had no more time to worry about his Companions, finding himself once again surrounded by zellous Marines. None of them appeared to be in any sort of mood to listen to him, either. It was like facing the cybermen. Just because he was _on_ a pirate ship he was immediately labeled as an enemy and they did everything in their power to take him out. It was terrifying, really, and yet the Pirate crew seemed to take it as part of the status quo. Even the little reindeer came to his rescue, transforming into a larger blocky-er shape and fighting hand to hand with a group of Marines to allow the Doctor to get away. Lightning stuck repeatedly from the clear sky, only hitting the Marines that rushed about the deck. Slowly what had started out as a well organized attack dissolved into a panicked retreat as the much smaller crew managed to repel the invaders.

The odd thing was he distinctly remembered there having been three ships. In fact, he was sure of it. Now, however there was only one lonely ship backing away from the _Sunny_ as fast as it could, Marines clinging to it like barnacles as it listed poorly to the side. He was almost afraid to ask what had happened to the other two, but if he had to guess, judging by the wicked looking grins on some of the faces around him it looked like they didn't need any cannons to sink other ships. That must have been some sight, and he wondered if Amy or Rory had seen whatever it was that they had done from the higher deck. He froze. "Amy and Rory!" Quickly he took off for the stairs, slipping and sliding on the grass that was wet for some reason. Reaching the top of the stairs he found them. Rory was leaning heavily on his sword, the tip buried in the wood of the deck while Amy leaned against him, arm draped across his back. Zoro stood a few feet away, a small smirk on his face.

"I'm fine, Doctor. We're fine." Amy smiled, and he let out a shuddering breath.

"I was so worried…" He took her in his arms, eyes looking over Rory. The man looked a little worse for wear, but nodded to let him know he was fine. It was then he noticed that Amy flinched in his arms and he glanced down, holding her at arms length. There was a long gash from her elbow to her wrist that bled sluggishly and he swallowed convulsively. "You're hurt."

"It's just a scratch." She assured him.

"That's more than a scratch, Amy-"

"Really Doctor, it's nothing. It's my own fault, really. Holding them off with a bucket of all things." She offered him a smile, willing him to laugh at her foolishness.

He didn't find it funny in the slightest. "This is why I didn't want you two to get involved. This wasn't our fight, and now you're hurt. What if it had been worse?"

"Oh come on. Rory was here with me."

"And he was almost overwhelmed!"

"Actually, he was doing pretty good." Zoro grunted, putting his own swords away before leaning over the railing, "Oiy, Chopper!"

"You need me? Someone's hurt? I'll be right there!"

The Doctor glared at Zoro even as Chopper arrived, dropped off by a still grinning Luffy, "I don't want to hear that from you."

"Hear what from Zoro?" Luffy cocked his head to the side, still grinning, "Wasn't that a great fight?"

"There weren't any strong fighters." Zoro grumbled.

Chopper was diligently rubbing some sort of salve on Amy's arm before wrapping it firmly, "There were a lot of them, though."

"I wish Smoky was there. He's fun." Luffy laughed.

The Doctor snapped, spinning to glare at his young friend. "Is this some sort of a _game_ to you? Is it? People got _hurt!_ AMY got hurt! And you're just laughing!"

"I told you; I'm fine Doctor." He held up a hand to silence her.

"You should have run. Instead you harmed I don't know how many people. And for what? This whole thing was pointless!" He shouted at the unresponsive Captain. Luffy pouted and looked away like the child he was.

He wasn't all that surprised when the rest of the crew was drawn by his shouting. "What's going on up here?" Nami asked, looking between the Doctor and the Captain.

"Nothing." Zoro yawned, "New guy's just bitching about shit he doesn't understand."

The Doctor rounded on Zoro, "What's there to understand besides the fact that you're all battle hungry lunatics that is?"

"HEY! It's not like we _want_ to fight-" Usopp snapped.

"Could have fooled me." The Doctor shot back. "You'd think you have a deathwish the way you all run into battle."

Luffy stood, balancing on the thin rail as he lifted his hat from where it lay against his neck and placed it on his head. He didn't look at any of them before dropping down to the main deck and walking away, his whole crew falling silent as they watched him leave. Chopper was the first to move after a moment as he finished treating Amy's injury. Sanji was the next as he lit up a cigarette and headed off to the kitchen, muttering something about preparing a snack for his shitty captain.

"Don't you think you were a little… harsh, Doctor?" Rory asked. "It didn't seem to me like those Marines were just going to walk away…"

"No Rory, I don't think I was too harsh." He leaned against the rail and looked at his friend, "They might have been here for a fight, but that doesn't give any of you the right to be reckless. Luffy especially. He's your Captain; he needs to put your safety first."

"There you go talking shit about our Captain again." Zoro growled. "You don't know the first thing about Luffy."

Chopper spoke up, "Zoro, you're hurt. I want you to come with me so I can patch you up."

The one eyed man snorted, looking down at the little doctor as he shifted his weight off his right leg. The Doctor noticed that it was bleeding freely, staining his clothes red. "It's fine, Chopper. I've had worse."

"It's not fine. You probably need stitches. Again. Come on… Luffy'll be fine."

"Fine. But no anesthetic this time. Save it for when we might really need it." The man grumbled as he followed behind the doctor.

"That is what I'm talking about, Rory. He puts his own crew in danger."

"Luffy does no such thing." Nami bit out, "He goes out of his way to protect us every chance he gets. Even if you don't see it, Luffy is a great Captain."

"Are you telling me he _doesn't_ put you in danger?"

Usopp hopped onto the rail next to him, "I wouldn't say that… but we follow him, because we believe in him. But we're pirates, there's always someone out to get us. He's gonna be Pirate King, you know, so of course there's more danger. We don't have to worry about just the lousy Marines, but other crews, too."

"If he'd stop picking fights with the Seven Warlords and the Emperors, we'd have less to worry about." Nami sighed.

Robin just laughed, "That's Luffy for you. What was the reason for threatening Big Mam again?"

"She wanted that candy he'd eaten at Fishman Island." Brook put in from the stairs, "If I remember correctly she threatened the island over it and pissed Luffy-san off."

"That's right… and we've still got the Kaido to take care of." Usopp deflated, "Stupid Law and getting us involved in that."

"You heard Luffy though. He wants to fight them all." Robin smiled.

"Our bounties are going to go up again…" Nami sighed. "I'm still waiting for the new ones."

"You have a point there. There's no way they'd stay the same after Luffy took out Doflamingo."

"Not to mention Dressrosa was _crawling_ with Marines." Usopp shuddered, "Uggg. If we never go back there, it'll be too soon. I think I'm on watch now, so I better get going. Make sure those guys didn't call for any reinforcements."

Holding up her hand for a high five Nami nodded, "Alright. Give me a shout if you see anything."

"No problem. I'll have Franky ready to Coup De Burst just in case. I don't think Luffy's in the mood for another fight right now."

"Of course not. _Someone_ accused him of putting his crew's lives at risk." Nami leveled her glare back at the Doctor. "_Someone_ who was trying to _talk_ to the Marines. How'd that work for you?"

The Doctor was ashamed to admit that she had him there. "If I had had more time…"

"You would have been captured or dead." Robin offered him a chilling smile. "Out at sea, on a Pirate ship, they're not going to listen. Even on land, finding a Marine willing to speak with a Pirate is rare."

"Then why be Pirates if it's so dangerous?" Amy asked.

"We don't all have a choice in the matter."

"Wait, so Luffy _forced_ you to join his crew?" Rory looked between the women, "That's wrong."

"I wouldn't say he forces anyone…" Nami muttered, looking away slightly. "But anyway, what Robin is talking about is our bounties."

The Doctor looked at her, not seeing the connection, "Your… bounties?"

"Yeah, didn't you see them in the kitchen?" The three of them shook their heads. "Ah. Well, Once you have a bounty on your head, there's nowhere safe."

"Then you shouldn't have become a Pirate in the first place."

"I received my first bounty as a child. Well before I was ever a Pirate." Robin told them, turning away. "Thanks to Luffy-san, this ship is my home. My first home since I was eight."

"Are bounties really that bad?" Amy frowned, looking towards Nami. "That doesn't make any sense, though. It's not like it's something that could follow you like that. Right?"

"Maybe where you're from that's true. Here, everything is ruled over by the World Nobles, and the Marines do their dirty work. So, when a bounty goes out, _everyone_ knows it. Pirates like us use it to keep track of who's who. You're not really considered _something_ until your Captain's bounty is at a certain price, for example."

Rory looked at her like she was nuts, "That seems a bit ridiculous. You're treating it like it's some kind of competition."

"It is a bit foolish." Nami admitted before her smile turned cold and calculating, "But if they're going to put a price on that idiot's head just because they have an issue with his dad, you're damn right we're going to celebrate when we do something to _really_ get their attention."

The Doctor huffed, "I don't see anything about that to be proud of. You're nothing more than thugs, aren't you?"

"We never said we were the good guys" The woman agreed, only angering him more. Before he could say anything, she held up a hand, "You should be talking to Luffy about this. Not me. Try asking him why he's a Pirate and _then_ tell me we're wrong."

Wordlessly he narrowed his eyes at her, annoyed by her attitude. He knew very well that he wasn't being particularly fair. Yet in his mind's eye he kept seeing Amy getting hurt and that was unacceptable. Even worse was the knowledge that his friends here were constantly putting themselves at risk in such a way. He thought of Zoro's lack of concern over his own injury and then of the horrific scar that marred Luffy's chest. Yes, he was coming across as arrogant, but this was not the life he wished for any of his friends. Their world couldn't _possibly_ be so cruel. He felt a gentle hand wrap around his own and squeeze. Blinking in surprise he looked over to see Amy smiling at him before she leaned her head on his shoulder. Oh, his glorious Amelia, always knowing what was troubling him.

"You should go find him." She said, giving his hip a light shove with her own. When he gave her a sidelong look he just snorted, "I'll be _fine_. I've got Rory here to protect me. Just go already. Talk to your friend."

"Fine then." He relented, wagging a finger at Rory. "You try and keep her out of trouble for once, will you?"

Rory smirked, "I'll try."

"Good enough." He turned his attention back to Nami, "Now. Where might I find your Captain?"

"Try his special seat." Nami suggested before walking away. Taking it that he wasn't going to get any more help he sighed and headed for the stairs, starting the long trek across the deck.

Luffy refused to look at him, sitting there on the figure head like he had that morning. For a while he watched the boy as he tried to get a hold of his anger. The straw hat shaded his eyes, every line of his shoulders telegraphing tension. The doctor guessed Luffy was pretty mad as well. Finally he sat next to the young Captain.

"Amy's fine, in case you were wondering." It came out harsher than he had intended.

Luffy just shrugged, "Of course she is. Chopper's a great doctor."

They fell into an uncomfortable silence that seemed to stretch forever. Finally the Doctor sighed, taking Nami's advice. "Why? Why be a pirate?"

"Because a pirate is free." Luffy answered. It was a simple enough answer, and yet the Doctor felt there was more to it than that. There had to be, since it put him and his nakama in constant danger. But he didn't press for answers. After a while the young man spoke, looking out again at the sea. "When I was a kid… my gramps wanted me and my brother to be Marines. He was always going on about how he was going to make us 'Strong Marines' and then he'd beat the hell out of the three of us with his fist of love."

That was a horrifying mental image. "He sounds like a… wonderful man." Luffy just grinned widely. "I can see why you don't like Marines much if that was the case."

"Nah. I like them alright. Most of them aren't too bad, though some are total bastards. Smokey's cool, though. And so is Coby. Helmeppo, too. I just didn't wanna be a Marine." He stuck his tongue out, "Too many rules. Shanks- he's the one who gave me my hat- he said that there was no one freer than a Pirate. That they could do whatever they wanted. And his crew was sooo cool…. I wanted that. But I wanted the strength to protect my Nakama… so I decided I'd be King."

"I see. And your brother felt the same way?"

Luffy's hand went to his chest, covering the center of the scar. "We just wanted to be _free_. Ace, Ace had his freedom stolen by them. The Marines killed him. I couldn't save him." The pain in those four words tore at the Doctor. This was not the carefree teen who'd laughed and called his TARDIS a 'mystery box'.

Gently he asked, "What happened?"

"It was a war." Luffy shrugged half-heartedly, "That's what they're calling it now. 'The War of the Best.' A war between the Marines and Whitebeard's crew over his Second Division Commander. The son of the former Pirate King. My brother." He was silent for a moment, "He died protecting me. I went to save him, and he died protecting me. Stupid Ace." There was nothing the Doctor could say to that as he felt the pain radiate off the small frame. Judging by the scar it had been a very close call, and he was amazed Luffy wasn't consumed by hate.

He didn't have to try very hard to imagine what such a war might be like if the battle he'd witnessed today had been any indication. It wasn't a pleasant picture in the slightest. This wasn't the peaceful world he hoped it was. The Doctor had a feeling that it wasn't a place where he could clearly point to one side and say 'You, you are in the wrong.' either. Sitting there, looking out over the relatively calm sea from the brightly colored figurehead it honestly _hurt_ thinking about leaving this young man here where he'd be hunted like some animal. "You know...my ship, the TARDIS? It can take you anywhere."

Luffy just looked at him, brow crinkled. "Huh?"

"Other planets, other times. Literally anywhere you'd want to go." The Doctor smiled brightly, "It's a never-ending adventure."

"That's so cool!" It was much better to see him happy.

"Yep. I could show you, if you'd like."

Luffy pouted, the sparkle fading slightly from his eyes. "I won't leave my Nakama."

"Who said you'd have to? Plenty of room. Old girl'd hardly notice a few stowaways." He stood, offering his hand to Luffy. "Want to go on an adventure?"


End file.
